German fans dream of ‘perfect night’

Germany made an ideal start to the European Championship at home, with a 5-1 defeat of Scotland that made fans dream again.

Expectations for Euro 2024 were low despite the three-time European champions, one of football’s long-standing powerhouses, hosting the tournament.

But Germany were hugely impressive against, admittedly, a painfully poor Scotland – and recorded his biggest victory at Euro ever.

Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and a Kai Havertz penalty gave Julian Nagelsmann’s side a 3-0 half-time lead, with Ryan Porteous sent off for Scotland after a reckless challenge.

With the game practically won, Germany slowed down before Niclas Fullkrug scored the fourth – and saw the fifth disallowed.

Antonio Rudiger’s own goal gave the Scots cause to celebrate for a few moments before Emre Can made it 5-1 with the final kick of the game.

“You have to give credit to Germany for their performance. They were under pressure going into the tournament,” said former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, who was at the Allianz Arena for BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They suffocated Scotland and surprised them in the first half. They took their foot off the gas in the second half. It could have been a much bigger margin than 5-1.”

Former Scotland striker Pat Nevin added that Germany looked like potential champions.

“There were little bits that reminded me of Manchester City,” he said. “The way they pressed very high and you must be able to play with them.

“I also loved the intelligence of Julian Nagelsmann, who saw where Scotland’s weaknesses were and absolutely punished and destroyed them.”

Nagelsmann said of his team’s victory: “I’m happy. It’s not easy to hold the first game in our country.

“We were brilliant in the first 20 minutes. It’s a good sign that our players complained about conceding goals.”

Why was there pessimism beforehand?

Germany has experienced football nightmares in recent major tournaments – being eliminated in the group stage in the last two World Cups and in the round of 16 against England at Euro 2020.

This was Germany’s first competitive game in 18 months since their early exit from the 2022 World Cup.

As hosts of Euro 2024, they did not need to qualify, so they played 15 friendlies. They won six and lost six of them.

After a 4-1 defeat to Japan in September, Hansi Flick was sacked and replaced by Nagelsmann. Former Bayern coach Nagelsmann won four of the eight friendlies he played in charge, but lost to Turkey and Austria in the space of four days in November.

Former German international Thomas HitzlspergerA BBC commentator this summer said before the big kick-off: “All the talk and expectation in Germany is about the possibility of a second ‘summer fairy tale’, or ‘Sommermarchen’, which is how the World Cup turned out. known as when we hosted it in 2006.

“Every football fan in Germany wants to spend a good summer together, but they need a team that fans can identify with.”

The connection is back.

German football expert Archie Rhind-Tutt told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Overall for Julian Nagelsmann, a perfect night. The Germans are incredibly critical when it comes to their team.

“They will be very happy and relieved because don’t forget they have lost the first game in the last three tournaments. They really needed that to take off.”

‘You can see Kaká in Musiala’

“It was a perfect start for Germany,” former Scotland striker Ally McCoist told ITV. “They have been excellent, with some superb performances. We can feel something growing with Germany.”

Some of the pre-tournament concerns had to do with Germany’s attacking options – or lack thereof.

Would they choose Havertz, Arsenal’s false nine, or Fullkrug – Borussia Dortmund’s imposing old-school striker?

Former German midfielder Steffen Freund told BBC Sport in the build-up to the tournament: “Not since Miroslav Klose have we had a world-class striker, so maybe that’s why we’re not the best in the world.”

But Freund added: “It’s good for Germany to have two strikers with a different style of football.”

And Germany did well here with both.

Havertz was joined by 21-year-old sensations Musiala and Wirtz – who scored in the first 19 minutes.

Germany is the first country in European Championship history to have two players aged 21 or under score in the same match.

Fullkrug came on for Havertz after the hour mark and fired a fantastic shot into the top corner before having another goal denied by the video assistant referee for offside.

“There are some good headaches that Julian Nagelsmann has regarding Fullkrug’s arrival,” Sutton said.

“It’s a perfect night for the German team. To start a tournament like this, their confidence will go through the roof. The German fans will start to like the team, but you have to factor into that equation how bad Scotland were.”

Musiala really caught the eye and the Bayern Munich player, dazzling at home, left the field with a standing ovation in the second half.

The 21-year-old, who represented England at youth level and spent much of his childhood in the country, made five successful dribbles. No other German player has achieved this.

“Ronaldinho is Musiala’s hero,” former England striker Ian Wright told ITV. “You can see the similarity with Kaká in him. There is a lot more to see between Musiala and Wirtz. Facing better teams, we might even see more of them.”

The atmosphere in Germany

BBC Sport’s Gary Rose:

In Hamburg, which has one of the biggest Euro 2024 fan zones with a capacity of 40,000 people, German fans understandably far outnumbered Scottish fans, with the city more than 800 kilometers from where the game was taking place.

It was a friendly atmosphere between two groups of fans who didn’t expect much from their respective teams, but were still determined to have fun.

However, Germany’s performance surprised the fans we spoke to.

“We didn’t expect this,” said Andreas. “Germany haven’t been doing very well in the recent past, so we thought they would be closer.”

Both Andreas and his friend Felix expect Florian Wirtz to be a star at the tournament, but were cautious about how far they think Germany will go.

Leaving the fan zone, German fans screamed and car horns sounded.

Before the game there wasn’t much buzz in the city about the tournament, but this emphatic victory may have changed that.

Emma Sanders from BBC Sport:

There were several fan parks in Stuttgart showing the game. But a small bar with about 12 seats had three large screens with the game on. People entered with German flags draped around their shoulders and peered into the windows outside.

Before the game started, they celebrated when they saw the trophy. Mikel, the bar owner, offered free drinks to regular customers after Germany’s second goal. A man in the corner stood up and shouted Musiala’s name.

After the third goal, everyone applauded and crowded outside. More fans started coming in and buying beer from the fridge. One of the workers, a Hoffenheim fan, said that they show football “all the time” and that in a tournament “you can’t know what happens”, but they are confident that Germany will perform well.